As a homeowner in Henderson, you want to make sure that your home never suffers serious damages, which means protecting it from water leaks. While most people understand that water leaks can come from their plumbing fixtures, but fewer understand that it’s also possible to suffer a water leak in your light fixtures.
Water leaking from a ceiling light fixture can be an extremely dangerous, damaging situation and deserves immediate attention. If you’ve never experienced this stressful situation before, it’s important to learn how to handle this particular type of water leak. Learn what to do when water leaks from a ceiling light fixture and find out why you need to hire a Henderson plumbing service for help.
The Dangers of Light Fixture Leaks
The biggest danger of experiencing water leaking from a ceiling light fixture is experiencing an electric shock. Water acts as a conduit for electricity, and it’s possible to suffer a damaging and potentially deadly shock when water is in an electrical fixture. Even touching a light switch for your ceiling light may result in a shock.
Having water in your light fixture may also be a fire risk. When water infiltrates an electrical fixture, it may result in sparking and fire. In fact, by the time you notice that water is leaking through your fixture, it’s probably already been going on for at least several days. That means that mold or corrosion may well have developed which will damage the wires, creating short circuits.
Another major risk of light fixture leaks is a collapsing ceiling. If you notice a soggy or sagging bulge in the ceiling, this is an indicator of potential imminent danger. When the drywall in your ceiling gets soaked, it gets soft and loses its structural integrity. Stay away from these bulges until you can get the issue addressed.
As you can see, immediately addressing water leaking from a ceiling light fixture is of the utmost importance.
What to Do Before the Plumber Arrives
The moment you notice water leaking from a ceiling light fixture, you need to turn off the electricity in your home. Find the breaker box for your home and completely shut off your electricity. This will help to mitigate the damage and will give you the opportunity to address the situation.
If you possess a non-contact voltage tester, you can use this tester on a dry electrical source to make sure that your power is off. With your power shut down, it’s time to address the leak.
Next, determine whether you need to shut off the water supply to your home. Is the leak a steady dripping or an even, continual flow? Is it on the top floor of your home or a lower floor? If it’s on the top floor and seems to happen only when it rains, it may be a leak from outside, and in this case, it’s beyond the purview of a plumber to fix (you’ll need a roofer). If it’s on a lower floor, it’s likely in your plumbing system.
What’s above the leaking area? Is it the toilet, sink or shower in the bathroom upstairs? Is it the sink or refrigerator line from the kitchen? If so, you’ll want to cut off the water supply to and from those appliances. Most will have a direct cutoff. For the bathtub, it’s likely behind the tub. For the sink, it’s under or behind the sink. For the toilet, it’s usually near the floor behind the toilet. Other potential culprits include indoor air conditioner handlers, which could indicate an overflowing drain pan due to a clogged drain line.
Typically, the source of your leak will be a pipe that is near the ceiling fixture.
Warn Family and Visitors
Next, make sure that everyone in the house knows that you have a serious situation with a light fixture leak and tell them to avoid any sources of electricity until you can determine that it’s safe. Cut off access to the room where the leak is happening. Don’t touch any electrical sources that appear to be showing signs of dampness.
Cleanup
Place buckets to catch any water that’s still dripping or running. Use towels or layers of newspaper to soak up standing water and mop up water on hard floors. If you have area rugs, it’s a good idea to remove them from the room and hang them to dry. If you have carpeting, you may need to rely upon a professional restoration team to repair the damage, or you may need to replace the carpeting in that room.
In some cases, simply allowing airflow into the room can help to dry out the carpet and avoid mold and mildew, but not having electricity in the room can present problems in this regard. A battery-powered wet/dry vac or fan can help to keep airflow moving and remove excess water from the carpet. Moisture presents a potential health hazard, as it can cause mold problems which can cause respiratory issues and infections, among other issues.
Draining the ceiling may be necessary, but is not recommended to try that on your own unless you have a great deal of training and experience dealing with these kinds of dangers, and you are absolutely certain the electricity is off.
Seeking Professional Help
Once the electricity is off, and you have shut off the water to the area where the light fixture leak occurs, or the master water shutoff to your home if you can’t determine the specific source, it’s time to call in the professionals for help. The first step, of course, is to address the leak to avoid more damage down the road. An experienced Henderson plumber can identify the source of your leak and can fix it quickly and effectively.
With your leak fixed, you need to replace the damaged ceiling fixture. This should always be handled by a professional electrician. A qualified electrician will examine your wiring and make sure that it is solid, safe and up to code, as well as fix any existing damage. After your electrician has replaced the affected light fixture, they can make sure that it is safe to restart your electricity.
Finally, you may need to call in restoration experts to take care of any other structural damage that the leak caused, like a sagging ceiling or water damage to your floor or carpets. Often, though not always, your homeowner’s insurance can cover issues like this. Contact your insurer to find out if this is the case for you.
Relying on plumbing and electrical professionals will ensure that your leaky light fixture is fixed and that your home doesn’t experience extensive damage.
Call a Plumber When Water Leaks From a Ceiling Light Fixture
The first step, however, is to address the leak itself. This is the core of your problem, and if it’s not taken care of, the damage will simply continue and will cause you more expense and potential danger in the future. If not fixed immediately, water leaking from a light fixture can be a very serious situation, both for your home and your family.
To get help when water leaks from a light fixture, the only thing you need to do is work with the experienced professionals at Village Plumbing, LLC.
Village Plumbing is proud to offer both residential and commercial plumbing services to customers throughout Henderson and Las Vegas, and we can help you with your leaky light fixture. Contact us today to learn more about our services.
